A
group of Congolese soldiers who created a rebel group after defecting
from the army have no intention of laying down their weapons despite an
ultimatum from the government and the expiration of a cease-fire with
the military, one of their leaders said Thursday.

Col.
Innocent Kaina spoke by telephone from his stronghold of Masisi in
northeastern Congo. Thousands of people have fled Masisi and its
neighboring provinces after Congo's military launched an offensive on
April 29 against the defectors. The five-day cease-fire expired
Wednesday.

"We
will not look back," Kaina told The Associated Press. "They had said we
should put down our guns, but we didn't. We still have guns and are
ready to fight whoever attacks us."

The
soldiers that led the mutiny belong to the former CNDP rebel group,
whose fighters signed a peace deal on March 23, 2009, agreeing to be
integrated into the Congolese army.

That
deal has come to embarrass Congo's government because the CNDP's
ex-leader, Gen. Bosco Ntaganda, is wanted by the International Criminal
Court for war crimes allegedly committed by his men against villagers in
eastern Congo. He has been allowed to live freely despite the
international arrest warrant, and to enjoy the rank of general in the
regular army.

Ntaganda's
soldiers began to defect from the army in early April, charging that
the government had failed to hold up its end of the March 23 peace
accord. The defections turned into a full-blown mutiny when Congo
surprised the world and announced that the military would arrest
Ntaganda.

A displaced Congolese family carry their belongings on the road between Rutshuru and Goma, after the village of Kibumba was occupied
by an armed militia consisting of current or former members of the
"National Congress for the Defence of the People", according to those
fleeing, in Congo Tuesday, May 8, 2012. Mutinous soldiers formerly from
the armed militia "National Congress for the Defence of the People" and
linked to Congolese ex-general Bosco Ntaganda, who is wanted for alleged
war crimes by the International Criminal Court, say they have formed a
new rebel group called the "March 23 Movement", led by a colonel who was
formerly the No. 2 in the army under Ntaganda. (AP Photo/Marc Hofer) Close

The
mutinous soldiers have fled into the bush, where they regrouped,
issuing a press release on the letterhead of the former CNDP, saying
that they had launched a new rebel group, called the M23 — for March 23,
in reference to the date of the 2009 peace treaty.

Kaina is one of several high-ranking army officers leading the defectors. The new group claims to have no link to Ntaganda.

The
colonel said he had helped create the new faction to protect "his
people" from rapes and killings by Congolese forces. Like the former
CNDP, the M23 is dominated by fighters from the Tutsi ethnicity. Kaina
spoke just hours after the government's cease-fire elapsed.

"Our
mission is to protect our people from the rapes, looting and killings
by (Congolese President Joseph) Kabila's forces. We are not looking
back," Kaina said, denying that the rebels have lost ground to
government forces.

Over
the weekend, the military claimed it had won back from the rebels the
areas of Masisi, Mushaki and Rutshuru. They also claimed that the rebels
had been pushed into the mountainous Virunga National Park, toward the
Uganda-Rwanda border.

"We
haven't lost any ground. We still have our stronghold. As we talk, I am
in Masisi. They cannot be stronger than us," Kaina said, claiming that
he has some 6,000 men under his command.

Asked
about the whereabouts of Ntaganda, Kaina said he didn't know. "You
should ask the government, I thought that he is a government soldier,"
Kaina said, in an effort to dispel rumors that the two are connected.

The
dissident colonel also claims that his group is recruiting more
fighters ready to take on government forces. Congolese army spokesman
Sylvester Ekenge could not immediately be reached for comment.

The
new claims by the rebels signal more trouble for volatile eastern
Congo, as more people continue to flee into neighboring Rwanda and
Uganda. Kaina hinted that the current hostilities could blossom into a
full-scale war, ending three years of relative peace in the troubled
Central African nation.

According
to United Nations figures, over 7,000 people, mainly Congolese Tutsis,
have crossed into Rwanda fearing escalating violence, while about 8,000
crossed to neighboring Uganda.

The
recent violent clashes between forces loyal to rebel leader Bosco
Ntaganda and the Congolese army in the Eastern part of Democratic
Republic of Congo could help the Rwandan rebels of the Democratic Forces
for the Liberation of Rwanda to regroup.

The
Rwandan army is now pushing for dialogue between the two parties after
holding talks with top Congolese military officials last week.

Democratic
Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) which is mainly a group of
Interahamwe who are remnants of the forces of former Rwandan president
Juvenal Habyarimana had been weakened following two offensive attacks by
both Rwandan and Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC) army three years
ago.

“Our
concern is that when there is escalation of violence, the consequences
spill over-once the Congolese are fighting amongst themselves, it
creates an atmosphere for the FDLR to reorganize and reconstitute to
destabilize Rwanda,” Col. Joseph Nzabamwita, the spokesman for the
Rwandan army- Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) told The East African.

FDLR
attacks on both Rwandan and DRC citizens living in Eastern Congo
heightened in 2009 prompting two countries to launch a military
offensive dubbed-operation Umoja Wetu between January and February 2009
and Amani Leo in April the same year.

The
operation resulted into significant disruption of FDRL’s command with
the death of at least 100 FDLR fighters and the surrender and
repatriation to Rwanda of 390 more (out of a total of FDLR force of
about 4,500) according to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR).

It also freed over 500 captives from the rebels including women and children.

Following
complete withdrawal of RDF troops from the Congolese territory after
the operation, the two countries agreed to restore full diplomatic ties.

“We do not want the situation to go back to was it was in 2009,” Col. Nzabamwita said.

He added that the Rwandan government is pushing for dialogue to resolve the ongoing conflict as opposed to war.

“During
the meeting our role was to encourage the DRC government to seek a
political solution to the standoff other than using military forces. We
would not want to see the FDLR who we had almost wiped out reorganize,”
Col. Nzabamwita said without revealing further details of the talks.

This
follows recent unrest and violent clashes in North and South Kivu
provinces and in the Ituri district of north-eastern DR Congo between
the Congolese army and soldiers loyal to the rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda
who is wanted by the International Criminal court ( ICC) for war
crimes.

The
recent clashes have forced thousands of Congolese to flee into Rwanda
from the fierce fighting with approximately over 6000 refugees received
in Rwanda.

Some
of the fighters loyal to General Bosco Ntaganda are former members of
National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), which was
integrated into the Congolese national army in 2009 following a peace
deal with their leader.

From
2002-2005, General Ntaganda was chief of military operations for the
Congolese the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) rebels, led by warlord
Thomas Lubanga who in March became the first person to be convicted of
war crimes by the ICC after finding him guilty of recruiting child
soldiers.

However,
in April, President Joseph Kabila vowed to arrest General Ntaganda
citing absence of tangible results following peace agreement.

Pressure
has also mounted on Mr Kabila’s government to handover General Ntaganda
whose has over 20, 000 soldiers reintegrated in the Congolese army.

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HAPPY 2014

THIS BLOG IS where I share news and thoughts about the great Hope for Peace particularly in DRC and generally in the African Great Lakes Region! While the international community talks about a post-conflict period in the DRC, we all know we are far from that. But who knows, while the meanders of political greed have hijacked the country, people's aspiration to freedom is still alive and might be the only hope for the country: freedom and peace!Antoinette